Joe Rivera, of Port Lavaca, has worked at Poco Bueno with his crew for 18 years. This year, the team set up everything but the big tent in the Caracol development.

Rivera's job begins in March and builds momentum until the tournament, when he is on 24-hour call.

In addition to the routine duties, Rivera repairs what breaks, which can include the docks. Thursday night, a post suffered a blow by a heavy boat that leaned too much as it docked.

Rivera found the closest 13-inch replacement pole and sent a trailer to Rockport on Friday morning to get it.

For 10 years, Rivera has hired and housed more than a dozen teens to help with the tournament. This year, they came from Victoria, Houston, Port Lavaca and San Antonio. His wife, Mary, feeds them breakfast and helps manage the team.

Rivera's most memorable moment was when the tournament moved from Alligator Head to Caracol, a newer subdivision.

"We had good times at Alligator Head, but the grounds at Caracol are so pretty, and I was happy to be at the first event there," he said.

Rivera said Poco Bueno is well known. On a trip to Las Vegas, he wore a shirt with Poco embroidered on the sleeve. A man stopped him to say he had heard a lot about the tournament.

Many of the employees hired by the Walter Fondren family, founders of the tournament, to work at Poco Bueno have been around a long time.

Barrett and Hugh Hawes, who has been with the tournament 22 years, are part of the team responsible for unloading, weighing and measuring the marlin. They make sure the billfish comply with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department rules.

The crowds are expected top be large as people gather to see who will win the tournament.